


Owl always trust you

by majesticduxk



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged up characters, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Bokuto has a big heart, Friendship, Gen, Gentle fic, Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Humour, POV Akaashi Keiji, Slice of Life, attempted humour, friends who protest together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29107041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majesticduxk/pseuds/majesticduxk
Summary: This is the third weekend in a row Koutarou has gone somewhere and not told Keiji what is going on. Keiji really hopes Koutarou is not in any trouble.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39





	Owl always trust you

**Author's Note:**

> things got feisty in auspol on twitter the other day (okay, I got feisty) and one of these days I am going to write a fanfic that teaches us all about climate science, but today is not that day. Instead have accidental protester Bo. 
> 
> also this is my first time really writing Akaashi, so uh, enjoy!

Life was busy and increasingly so. Keiji works hard to keep his busy-ness to weekdays, but Koutarou’s schedule is much more uncertain. This means that when they have a weekend together, it was special. A time to luxuriate in each other’s company. And since Kou currently has six weeks at home due to it being off-season, Keiji is excited for the six weekends in a row he gets to spend canoodling with his husband. 

That had been the grand plan, at any rate.

For the third Saturday (and the fifth weekend day) in a row, the alarm goes off far too early. And for the third Saturday (and the fifth weekend day) in a row, quietly Koutarou kisses him goodbye before he really has time to wake up and find out what is going on. 

Koutarou _knows_ Keiji is no good before at least the first cup of coffee, so it was easy to ignore what may have been a grunt, or perhaps a question. By the time Keiji is sitting up and awake enough to string words together, Koutarou is already out the door. 

Listening to the echo of the door slam, Keiji rests his head back against the pillows, before reaching across and grappling for his phone. When he finally finds it, it informs him that the time is 6.07am. On a Saturday. 

Six in the morning on Saturday? No longer tired, Keiji sits up properly. He is… not _worried_ exactly, but definitely confused and concerned. Weekends are important. Weekends are the time he gets to snuggle with Kou, in that delightful half awake, half asleep state of being. They get to cuddle on the couch watching movies. Or go out on dates. Sometimes they socialize with their friends. It didn’t matter what the plans were, they spent their precious weekends together. 

The fact that Koutarou is spending all his spare time somewhere else, doing something that is not with Keiji, and is not telling Keiji what it is… it couldn’t be more obvious that he’s hiding something! 

Keiji generally knows exactly what is going on for his open and easy to read husband. Not only did he normally admit anything and everything before Keiji even had to ask, but Keiji also knows his husband very well. High school Keiji dedicated entire notebooks to understanding Koutarou (he didn’t need the books any more, as he’d memorized that information long ago, but Kou refused to get rid of them, saying he loved them, and well, Keiji was a weak, weak man when it came to those puppy dog eyes). 

Not only that, but Koutarou also wears his heart on his sleeve. And his face. More than once Keiji has needed to smooth over an incident because, although Kou was now better at keeping his mouth shut, his face shows it all. 

So, all in all, Bokuto Koutarou was both honest to a fault, and very, _very_ easy to read. 

This made his current behavior extra confusing. Even if he understood Kou blowing him off for reasons unknown (which he doesn’t), today is the regular catch up with their high school and college friends. Now that they are all adults, and Keiji used that term very, very lightly with respect to some of this group, his husband included, they have less time spare time. He still remembers when Kuroo sent Kenma along with a doctor’s note excusing his absence, the monthly catch ups are taken that seriously. 

Which was why Keiji went alone, and why as soon as he walked through the door-

“Akaashi! You’re late. Where’s Bo?”

Keiji makes his way to the counter and orders his drink before drifting back. He definitely needs more caffeine for this conversation.

“And hello you to you too, Kuroo-san.” Keiji nods to the rest of the table. It’s the usual suspects, although Iwaizumi has dragged Miya Atsumu along. “Miya-kun, it’s been a while.”

“How many times do you have to tell you, call me Atsumu! We’re the same age, and I know you call Osamu by his first name. Stop making this weird!”

Nodding politely, Keiji hides his smile. Perhaps Koutarou is rubbing off on him, but he does enjoy teasing Atsumu. Before he can tease again, Kuroo grabs his attention.

“That doesn’t answer my question though! Bo’s been blowing me off, and I thought for sure I’d see him here, so where is he?”

Opening his mouth to reply, Keiji instead shuts it. Kuroo didn’t know what Kou was up to either? Keiji assumed that it was some sort of mischief and that Kuroo was involved. Unfair? Definitely not. When there was mischief to be made, Koutarou and Kuroo were generally in the thick of it. 

Eventually he replies with, “I’m not sure. Bokuto-san has been very busy these last weeks, and especially on weekends. He’s out from early in the morning until late at night, and so far he hasn’t told me where he’s going. To be honest, I think he forgot we were meeting today. I’m sure he will be most apologetic, and that he will make every effort to attend, next time.”

What Keiji says was straight forward, and true, but the looks he gets in response are nothing short of horrified. His friends exchange odd glances before Oikawa speaks up. 

“Akaashi, is he doing anything else unusual? Hiding things, for example. Perhaps… phone calls?”

Keiji nods. “He is often in his phone. But that isn’t unusual. I don’t know if you recall Kuroo-san and Bokuto-san in high school, and then university, and then now, but they text each other constantly over the most ridiculous things. Constantly,” Keiji repeats. Not that Keiji checks Koutarou’s phone, but the endless notifications would wake either him or Koutarou, and when Kou woke up he had to check it, and if Keiji was awake, he would have to share the random fact. And if he wasn’t awake, Kou would prod him until he was.

_“Keiji! Keiji! Did you know that alligators will give manatees the right of way if they are swimming near each other?”_

_“Kou-“_

_“And did Owls don't build their own nests! They take nests that other birds have left! It’s why I like it best when you make the bed!”_

This went on and on and on until Keiji put down his foot and made Koutarou put his phone on silent, and then they both got sleep. 

Keiji shares the story and Kuroo immediately defends himself. 

“They aren’t ridiculous. And those were Bo’s. His interesting facts are all animal related, although most of them are owls. Mine are _interesting_ in the pure sense of the word. I mean, did you know _almost_ is the longest word in English with all the letters in alphabetical order? Bo didn’t!”

“Bokuto-san barely knows English,” Keiji returns dryly. Although that was an interesting fact. “But to answer your question, Oikawa-san, yes, he is taking more calls at the moment.”

And hiding them. Keiji knew he was. It was with the small, guilty looks he’d send Keiji when his phone rang with a certain tone. It was in the way he tried to speak quietly, but an excited Koutarou was not a quiet Koutarou, and so ended up yelling anyway. Keiji did his best not to listen in. For some reason it was important to his husband that Keiji did not know what was going on. And while he felt a little sad that Koutarou wasn’t quite ready to share something so important with him, Koutarou had never kept anything from him for long. Keiji just had to wait until he was ready. 

His so-called friend, however, interrupt his musing with a much darker interpretation. 

“That’s all pretty standard behaviour, for someone having an affair,” Oikawa informs him. “Do… do you think he’s cheating on you?” 

Although Oikawa lowers his voice, and aims his words directly at Keiji, the whole table reacts, most of them freezing. The silence goes on, and the awkward moment is interrupted as the waitress wandered over, depositing Keiji’s drink on the table with an abnormally loud _clink_. Nodding his thanks, Keiji picks up his cup and calmly a sip. It breaks the silence.

“You’re taking this pretty well, Akaashi.” Kenma’s eyes are hooded, but intense. 

Slowly taking another sip of his coffee, Keiji considers his friends. He can almost understand some of them (that is, Oikawa) thinking Koutarou is cheating. His actions are suspicious to say the least. But everyone here _knows_ Koutarou. And anyone who knows him also knows he would never cheat on Keiji.  
At least he thought so. 

“Akaashi could be being fooled! Maybe Kou is placating him with sex!”

“For god’s sake, Trashykawa!”

“Ow! Mean Iwa-chan!”

Letting the argument wash over him, Keiji hides his smile. There was nothing wrong with their sex life. Koutarou was sweet in and out of bed, and the number of times he cried while they had sex, just because he was so in love Keiji... those weren’t the actions of man who cheated. 

And as he’d already established this morning, Koutarou was terrible at hiding things. Before he can defend his ridiculous husband’s honour, Atsumu speaks up.

“Seriously, ‘Kawa? You know Bokkun just as well as the rest of us. Can you imagine him cheating on Akaashi-san? Can you imagine him even _thinking_ about it?”

The table seems to relax at that, and agree that no, there was no way that Koutarou would ever cheat on Keiji. Despite his slight annoyance (he’d wanted to be the knight in shining armour), Keiji can’t help but smile into his drink. Koutarou really does have good friends.

Oikawa, however, is still Oikawa.

“Well, if he’s not cheating, then what is he doing?” Oikawa snaps back.

Keiji can’t find it in himself to argue. Because isn’t that the hundred-million-yen question.

~o~

After that, the conversation thankfully changes into more interesting and less frustrating. After many drinks, they finally say their goodbyes and Keiji heads straight home. Normally Saturday is their chore day, and he and Koutarou do the grocery shopping together. And while Keiji could do the shopping himself - it was quieter, quicker, and on budget - he cherishes the chaos that Koutarou brings, as he tries to sneak extra treats into the shopping cart, and the passionate way he tries to convince Keiji to buy vegetables he’s never heard of. 

“But you don’t cook, Koutarou,” is one of Keiji’s constant refrains on these trips.

“I could learn,” Koutarou would sulk back at him. 

Today, despite missing his husband, Keiji wishes he’d gone shopping. Because as he was leaving, Kuroo sneakily asked him if he was busy, and when Keiji foolishly replied no, Kuroo invited himself to visit with Keiji, _just to talk about things_. 

“It’s not that I think he’s cheating on you,” Kuroo hastily informs him. “I mean, when Tooru said it, it was like, yeah… yeah, that behaviour is shady as fuck. _However_ ,” and Kuroo talks right over Keiji, “I know Kou too. And he’s been in love with you since he was sixteen, and if anything, he’s just falling even more disgustingly in love-“

“Don’t call our love disgusting, Kuroo-san.”

“But you can’t argue that this is definitely shady behaviour.”

By this time, they’ve reached Keiji and Koutarou’s apartment. Kuroo stands expectantly on the door step, and for a moment he wavers – does he have to invite Kuroo in? Perhaps he can just go in and shut the door in Kuroo’s face? It was definitely tempting, but the result would probably just be loud and annoying until Keiji invites him in anyway. Bowing to fate, Keiji unlocks the door and gestures their friend inside. 

“I never knew shady behaviour distressed you so much, Kuroo-san.”

Kuroo, who threw himself down on the sofa, looks up, surprised. “Huh? It doesn’t. What I want to know is, what is Kou up to, and why didn’t he invite me!”

Keiji feels a tension headache coming on. He should have known. 

~o~

Kuroo ends up staying all afternoon. Keiji politely invited him to leave, but he waves it away, telling him that Kenma is live streaming until god knows when, and he wants to talk to Kou anyway. Sighing, Akaashi resigns himself to spending time with Koutarou’s best friend. 

He doesn’t dislike Kuroo. In fact, over the years he’s grown rather fond of him. And of course anyone important to Koutarou is important to him as well. 

… Actually, no. That wasn’t quite true. Kou had too big a heart, and sometimes didn’t notice that people were unkind or cruel. Keiji did his best to protect Koutarou from that. 

It did raise a point though. 

“Do you think Koutarou is worried that I will disapprove of whatever it is he’s doing?”

Kuroo, who was reading back through his texts, pauses. “Disapprove? Like when we went skinny dipping in the Olympic pool?”

“To be fair, Kuroo-san, the _Olympic officials_ also disapproved of that.”

“Or how about when he faked his report card so that his parents wouldn’t pull him off the team?”

“I _know_ you were behind that, Kuroo-san.”

Sniggering, Kuroo drops his phone into the pillows beside him. “The point is, you often disapprove of what he does. And it doesn’t stop him doing it, or telling you about it.”

Eyes narrowed, Keiji considers arguing. Kuroo isn’t waiting for a response though. 

“Out all off the reasons we’ve considered, though, that’s the most likely. Kou hates disappointing you, but he also hates hiding things from you. So, I don’t kn-“

At that moment, the door opens, and a very bedraggled Koutarou walks in. He’s on the phone and hasn’t noticed that his husband and best friend are seated in the loungeroom. 

“Yeah, I just got home. I’m not sure if they just let me go or if I’m out on bail. But I’m gonna… I mean… court, right? Do you think I’ll go to jail?”

“What the hell, Kou?”

Koutarou’s head snaps up, and he stared at Keiji in wide eyed shock. Keiji would have interrogated him more, except he had a bloody gash across his face, and the beginnings of a black eye. 

“Ahhh. I gotta go. Talk tomorrow?” Without waiting for a response, he hangs up the phone. “Keiji! Kuroo? I wasn’t expecting to see either of you.”

It was almost charming to see the way the gears in Koutarou’s head spin as he tried to figure out what to say.

Keiji doesn’t give him time to think though. While he _really_ wants to interrogate Koutarou, he wants to clean up his face first. “Sit down next to Kuroo-san and stay there. I’m getting the first aid kit.”

“Keiji-“

“Sit, Koutarou.” 

So Koutarou sits. Taking a few deep breaths, Keiji takes his time in gathering the supplies. Koutarou had mentioned jail and bail when he walked in, but after consideration, he dismisses that. The head gash is still oozing a little, and if he’d actually been arrested, they would have fixed that up. 

Feeling slightly better about things, Keiji returns. Kuroo is rubbing a miserable looking Koutarou’s back, and he can’t help the warmth that flared inside him. The scene was one that has played out many times over the years, and would probably continue for many more. 

He sets up the first aid kit and a basin of warm water before sitting on Koutarou’s other side. 

“Please face me, Koutarou.”

Slowly and gently, Keiji cleans the wound. It isn’t as bad as he’d first feared, although it is a little dirty. Rinsing out the cloth, Keiji grabs the icepack, and wrapping it a dry cloth, holds it against the bruised eye. That doesn’t look too bad either, and hopefully the ice is on early enough to reduce the bruising. 

Throughout the process, Keiji is silent. It’s a comfortable silence. At least for Keiji. Not even five minutes in, Koutarou breaks spilling all of the beans. 

~o~

A few weeks back he’d been walking to the gym and passed some environmental campaigners. Koutarou wouldn’t have paid attention except-

“Renji was so cool! He had a tie-dyed shirt! And he made it himself! And when I signed the petition and donated, I got to choose a sticker and they had owl ones!”

Of course, he’d then struck up a conversation with the owl sticker owner, and it turned the petition was to save a patch of forest. Now, Bokuto was all for forest protection, but surely there were lots of forests. 

“But then! Then, Keiji, he told me that it has a large owl population, and some greedy corporate scum want to bulldoze it down for no proper reason! And owls are _important_ and deserve homes and more than a third of all owls are already endangered-“

As it turned out, not that many forests that were important owl habitat. Keiji was unsurprised that Koutarou had fallen like a house of cards. 

Koutarou is in tears as he tells his story, and sighing, Keiji wraps his sobbing husband in his arms. 

“Yes, yes,” he sooths, ignoring Kuroo’s hysterical cackle behind him. “The owls definitely deserve a home, but what have you been doing? You signed the petition and donated and-“

Suddenly a terrible image fills Keiji’s brain. Sometimes knowing Kou so well was a curse. 

“To stop the bulldozers, Renji said a group has to go out and chain themselves to the trees. But they have to do it 24/7 otherwise the bad guys will sneak in and cut down all the owl trees-“

Oh, yes, this Renji had his husbands’ number all right. 

“-so they need people there 24/7,” Koutarou is repeating it, as if Keiji missed it the first time! “to be chained to the trees. And they didn’t have quite enough people, and I thought, well! It’s off season, so as long as I keep up all my off-season training, I can go there and help the owls! And I was just going to go during the week, y’know go to the gym early and then go to the forest when you were at work, but the time they needed people most was the weekend, and so I thought yeah! I can do the weekends, and I meant to come home and ask you, but before I realised it, I had agreed and then I had to be there, and-“

Keiji holds up a hand, and Koutarou clamps his mouth shut. Before he can say anything, pain-in-the-ass Kuroo jumps in. 

“Bro! Are you telling me you’re a… a what? An environmental criminal? That you’re a _protester_?”

Brow furrowed, Koutarou considers. “No? I mean, I went there and, oh! Keiji! My first day there I saw a family of owls! I saw them! And they were so beautiful and that was their home, and they looked at me with those big eyes and it was like they were begging me to help them, and I just couldn’t do nothing and let them be homeless!”

Next thing he knows, Koutarou is once again sobbing in his arms. And, well, he has an answer now, but he’s not upset about it. This is his Koutarou: heart too big to be contained. Really, could he have expected anything else?

Rubbing his back gently, Keiji soothes his miserable husband, thinking about what to say next. Understanding doesn’t mean he is okay with everything that has happened.

“I’m not angry, but I am quite disappointed, Kou. You’ve been sneaking off and leaving me wondering what’s going on. Not only that, but I had no idea where you were. And I had no way to contact you. What if I had an emergency here? What if you got hurt?” 

Which does remind him. Using one gentle finger, he lifts Koutarou’s chin and stares at the bruises. They don’t look worse, so hopefully he got the ice on soon enough. Still teary eyed, Koutarou bites his lip and looks away. Keiji has said his bit, and is happy to wait. He’s learnt to give Koutarou time to think about things, and not rush him in to an answer. When he is ready, Koutarou will tell him what he needs to know.

Today though, he forgot to account for Kuroo. 

“Bo, Bro, I mean that all makes sense, but what the hell happened to your face? That doesn’t look like an owl did it.”

Koutarou sends a sneaky look toward Keiji, but Keiji is still placidly looking at him. He fights an internal battle, perhaps deciding if Keiji will let this go, but one look at his face and posture, and Koutarou slumps. 

Ignoring Kuroo, he whines at Keiji. “Keiiiiiiiji! It’s not that bad.”

And no way was he having any of that. Fixing Koutarou with a firm look, he asks, “Have I ever considered your health and safety unimportant, Kou?”

Knowing the answer, Koutarou pouts at him, and he looks so sweet that Keiji gives in to the temptation and kisses him quickly and sweetly on the lips. 

“You’re still not getting out of answering me, Kou. And since you’re going to tell me eventually, you may as well just tell me now. It’ll be quicker and easier,” and Keiji pats Koutarou’s bottom gently. It’s enough to get Kuroo’s eyebrows to reach his hairline, and for Koutarou to sit up and dash his tears away. 

The story, when Koutarou finally manages to tell him, through various fits and starts, doesn’t please him at all. 

“So, what you’re telling me that the developers sent in ‘muscle’ to rough up the protesters, and because you were defending… to be honest I’m not sure whether it was a person, a tree, or an owl, Kou, but you were defending something, and one of these ‘muscles’ attacked you and hit you in the face.”

Koutarou is nodding enthusiastically. “Exactly! We were innocent! I didn’t do anything, well, except chain myself to a tree, which I guess is _technically_ illegal, probably, but-“

Koutarou, bless his soul is clueless. Keiji, however, is more clued in and also worries about his ridiculous husband, so he makes a decision. “Well, I’m coming with you tomorrow. I don’t care if you were trespassing-“

“We weren’t! It’s a national park, so I don’t even understand why they can come and knock down the owl homes! And other animal homes,” Koutarou adds as an afterthought. 

Frowning, Keiji starts to ask, “What do you mean, public-“ 

“I’ll come too,” Kuroo grandly announces. Keiji’s head spins as he turns to face the other half of the trouble making duo. “To be honest I’m offended that you didn’t include me in the first place.”

Koutarou has an answer ready for that. “It would be bad if you and ‘Kaashi got in trouble! You do important things!”

The answer is ridiculous. “I don’t believe that’s the only reason you didn’t tell me, Koutarou.” 

From the sorrowful look Koutarou sends him, that was his _you’re in trouble_ voice. Which is fair. Because he _is_ in trouble. 

“I stand by what I said, Kou.” He’s careful to keep his voice gentle. “I think you kept it from me because you were worried about what I would say. But we _discuss_ things. And… and I’ve been worried! I didn’t know what you were doing and I didn’t know where you were! What if something, something worse had happened?”

His husband droops. “Sorry, Keiji. I didn’t think about that, I was just-“

Keiji stops him again. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow. I’ll come with you, and see for myself what is going on and then-“

“Hey, Bo. What time do you need to get there tomorrow?”

Rubbing his temple, Keiji turns his glare on Kuroo. Would the man ever stop interrupting? And that was _his_ trouble making voice. What was he planning? “Kuroo-san.” 

Of _course_ Koutarou gets distracted. “Ummmm. By about 8. That gives us time for the swap over and to catch up on what happens at night.” Koutarou sighs sadly. “Some owls are active during the day, but not these ones. I only got to see them that first time.” He perks up again. “Did you know that you can tell when owls are going to be awake by their eye colour? Night owls have brown or black eyes, and day owls have yellow eyes!”

“Kuroo-san,” Keiji tries again, injecting some _you’re also in trouble_ in to his voice, but Kuroo was already hanging up the phone. 

He beams at them. “Good news! The gang will come along tomorrow. It’ll be great!”

~o~

It is not in fact great. At least, the getting there was less than great. The train trip is filled with many less than awake men, some of who grumble. 

A lot. 

“You didn’t have to come,” Keiji very clearly tells Kenma, who just frowns at him before burrowing into Kuroo’s side. 

Okay, so while it’s Kenma who is complaining, it’s definitely Keiji who is in the bad mood. Not even a thermos full of coffee lovingly prepared by his husband makes this stupid o’clock train tip any better. Who can blame him though? It’s early! And it’s Sunday. And all he wanted to do was stay in bed and cuddle his husband. Who is currently _very_ awake and regaling them all with owl facts. 

Still, in the scheme of things, this wasn’t the worst thing they could do together. _At least he’s not in jail_ , the sensible part of his brain tells him. And seeing the shock on the protesters faces when Koutarou bounds towards them with his own rent-a-crowd is worth a smile. 

“Renji! I bought friends!”

Keiji’s eyes sharpen as a man extracts himself from the crowd. So, this is Renji. 

Renji is a round young man wearing pink and green tie-dye, currently staring at them with wide eyed delight. The little bit of tension Keiji had been carrying was abruptly released. He could immediately see why the two got on. 

“Bo! Wow, are these all new people? I never knew so many people cared about Komorebi National Park! Bo, you are the best, the best! How many are here? One, two, three! Wow more than three new people at one time! Are you all coming to chain yourself to a tree? That’s amazing - Wait, I’m too forward!”

Trotting forward, Renji bows to them all. “Thank you for coming to our lock in! My name is Takaharu Renji, and I am responsible for logistics and-“

Renji obviously works in HR as a day job, and after listening to the less than helpful information, Keiji walks over and inspects the trees. The forest itself seems quite large, but the people have formed their chains at the front of the forest. He wonders if there were people spread out, because if he were the bulldozer owner, he would just access the area from a different place and start there. 

Perhaps he should change careers? Become a capitalist criminal? What would Koutarou do? On that happy thought he finds a large, and admittedly very beautiful tree. Turning around, he calls to his husband. “Kou? This one looks big enough for the both of us. Shall we get chained up here?”

It wasn’t how Keiji expected his weekend to go, but as he looked into the delighted face of his husband, he knew it was still going to be perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: so, the blockade was technically not illegal because it was public lands! but the logging was definitely illegal too! And so was the assaulting the blockaders, so *handwaves* the owl habitat was saved. Hooray! (They also got some great photos of being chained to trees, and Koutarou promised not to keep any more secrets from Keiji. He will try to keep that promise). 
> 
> * 木漏れ日 (Komorebi) means “sunbeam through the leaves.” I thought it was a pretty name for a national park.


End file.
